


The Change

by teej_318



Series: Prompts for Camp NaNoWriMo April 2020 [4]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Actually all of the Losers are, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, But this story focuses on the changes in Richie's life, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Georgie Denbrough Lives, M/M, Richie is going through some changes, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, Stanley Uris Lives, Tooth Rotting Fluff, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23489590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: Since the events of Derry, each member of the Losers club is making changes, both big and small, in their lives. For Richie Tozier, the change is a rather big one.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Audra Phillips, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris
Series: Prompts for Camp NaNoWriMo April 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650052
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	1. Life Change

Eddie sat up in his couch, reaching across to the coffee table to grab his glass of wine that he had poured shortly before he sat down to flip through the TV channels to spend his evening. In the time since Derry, he had made some major life changes. He had realized the toxicity of his marriage to Myra and they had divorced. Eddie had expected Myra to make things difficult for him, but to his surprise, she simply wanted their old home, which Eddie was only to happy to let her have in the divorce. 

Once he had moved out of his old home, he found an apartment that was closer to his job. He was relieved that he was able to find a place nearby; not wanting to uproot his entire life and move cross country, no matter how appealing it sounded. One step at a time, he had rationalized when he made the decision to stay in New York. 

Now, he lived a somewhat boring life, though by his standards, it was way better than the life had led with Myra. Now, he got to enjoy his alone time, relish in it even, all while still being connected with his dear friends from childhood: The Losers Club. 

Ever since they had officially defeated Pennywise, all of the Losers had kept in touch. They all seemed to be moving into new phases in their lives. Bev had divorced her shitbag abusive ex-husband and was living with Ben in Nebraska, having finally admitting her feelings for Ben, who revealed himself as the author of the infamous poem from the 80s. Meanwhile, Bill and Audra had worked on their relationship and were now closer than ever, with Bill working on a new book he promised would be an instant bestseller and would have a proper ending. Stan, after recovering from an illness that prevented his return to Derry, caught up with the rest of the Losers while they were still in town, and introduced his wife to them, apologizing profusely for missing the battle. Mike was traveling all across the United States, currently visiting Florida and trying to determine if Disney World was in fact the happiest place on Earth. Even little Georgie, though he wasn't so little anymore, was building a new life out in Texas, working as a freelance photographer and writer.

And Richie, he had promised that he would fire his writers and start writing his own material with his stand-up. Eddie had loudly applauded Richie for making that choice, knowing his best friend's comedic genius was way better than the crap his writers used to force him to say. 

All in all, life was going well for the Losers. They had finally defeated the source of their childhood trauma and were living their best lives. Although, Eddie couldn't help but be a little sad that he didn't get to go out and visit Richie like he had hoped; the divorce had taken longer than he expected, forcing him to postpone his trip. Though perhaps it was for the best, Eddie thought. Confessing his feelings for Richie may have been a bit much amidst the divorce and him moving out, but he still couldn't help but be sad his biggest dream was getting delayed, if only for a little while.

And speaking of Richie...

Eddie had just settled on watching the newest Star Wars film when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Frowning, Eddie fumbled into his pocket, grabbing for his phone. There was an incoming phone call from Stan coming in on it. He quickly answered the call.

"Hey, Stan, what's up?" he asked.

"Hey, have you been on Twitter at all today?" Stan asked, getting right to the point as he always did. 

"No I forgot my charger this morning so my phone died around lunchtime. I only just pulled it off the plug after dinner. Why, what's going on?"

"Have you heard from Richie at all?"

"No," Eddie said, frowning again. "Why, is something going on with him?"

"Lot of rumors and stuff," Stan replied. "I thought he would've called you if any of it was true."

Now that peaked Eddie's curiosity.

"Here, let me go check Twitter," he said, putting the phone onto speaker mode and then going to the homepage. He clicked on the Twitter icon. Once the Twitter app was open, he clicked on Richie's profile. Though Richie hadn't tweeted in a few days, several comments on his recent posts caught Eddie's attention.

@johnny_edwards94: Hey @trashmouth_tozier: is is true you're quitting comedy? The hell, man?

@susanphillips: If you're quitting comedy, who else are we gonna here bad jokes from?

@biancaqueenb: Petition to bring back Trashmouth from retirement! #TrashmouthComeback

"What the hell?" Eddie said as he scrolled through all of the comments. "Where are they getting this idea that Richie's quitting comedy?"

"I think it was this TMZ article that got tweeted out a couple of hours ago," Stan answered. "Here, I'll send you the link."

Eddie waited for the notification from his phone before clicking on the message Stan had sent him. He opened the article and was dumbfounded by the headline.

**Trashmouth calls it quits with comedy?**

"What is this, Stan?" Eddie demanded.

"No idea, but you should definitely read it and then give him a call, see what's up."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks for calling, Stan."

"Course. Let me know what's going on when you find out, huh?"

"Sure," Eddie replied. "Talk to you later."

He ended the call with Stan and then scrolled down the TMZ page to get to the article. A large picture of Richie from his last standup special served as the article photo. Eddie scrolled to the text.

_It looks like Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier might be calling it quits on comedy, TMZ can report._

_Tozier's manager, Steve Covall, appears to be looking for a new job, if his LinkedIn is anything to go by. Covall's LinkedIn page deleted any reference to Tozier, and his headline has been updated to say he is "searching for new clients, inquire within."_

_TMZ reached out to Covall, who released the following statement to us:_

_"At this time, I am unable to confirm or deny any association with Richie Tozier. Richie has had great success in his years of comedy and he will continue to do so."_

_That vague statement is the only other evidence of a possible Tozier drop of Covall and his services. TMZ reached out to Tozier, who has not yet responded to our requests for an interview._

_Check back on this story for more information._

Eddie's eyebrows had furrowed while reading the article. If Richie's agent was indeed looking for new clients, then it was possible Richie had indeed dropped him. Or, worse, Richie had been dropped by his manager.

Eddie closed the article and dialed Richie's number for a FaceTime call. Richie answered rather quickly.

"What's up, Eds?" Richie asked, grinning at Eddie with his trademark smile, which brought a feeling of relief to Eddie, but only for a moment. 

"What's going, Rich?"

"Not sure what you mean, Eddie Spaghetti," Richie said, frowning.

"I saw the TMZ article, Richie. And all the comments on your Twitter page. Is something going on? Is everything okay?"

Richie's frown morphed into an expression of concern as he looked at Eddie, who was starting to breathe faster than normal.

"Hey, it's okay, Eddie, you don't have to freak out or anything."

"How can I stay calm when I don't know what's going on and it looks like your career is ending!"

"It's not ending, Eddie," Richie said. "It's just...changing."

Eddie calmed down slightly at that, frowning at Richie again.

"What do you mean, it's changing? Did Steve fire you for you wanting to write your own jokes?"

"No, it's not like that. Everything was mutual, Eddie."

"Rich, please just tell me what's going on."

Richie sighed deeply.

"I was hoping the news wouldn't get out so quickly so I could tell you and the rest of the Losers first," Richie said. He took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes: I'm quitting standup, Eds. But it's not a bad thing," he said hurriedly, correctly anticipating that Eddie was about to interrupt him with a barrage of questions. 

"So, why are you quitting? I thought you loved standup."

"Yeah, I thought I did, too," Richie said. "But the truth is, standup is just so fucking exhausting, Eddie. It's hard to come up with new material and stay fresh and relevant. And even though I would love to write my own stuff, standup just doesn't make me happy the way it used to, you know?"

Eddie's face softened at that. Of course he could understand how something that used to bring someone joy no longer did.

"I'm sorry, 'Chee. I had no idea."

Richie shook his head.

"It's okay, Eds, nobody did. And I didn't really realize it until I got back from Derry and really thought about it. And the thought of doing that for the rest of my life just fucking exhausted me, Eddie. So I'm taking an extended break from it for a while so I can do other things. I've always wanted to do voice-over work and I really wanna try writing some TV comedies that I don't have to perform myself, you know? Try something new while still getting to perform."

"I think that's great, Richie," Eddie said, smiling. "You know you have all of my support, right?"

Richie grinned at him.

"Thanks, Eds, I really appreciate that," Richie said. "You know I figured we're all doing different things now, so why not try some different things myself? Stuff that'll make me happy like standup did in the early days. And who knows, maybe one day I will return to standup, even if it's just once."

"Well, I think you've definitely got a good handle on things, Richie. I'm proud of you, you know?"

If Eddie didn't know better, he could have sworn he saw Richie blush at that statement.

"Aww, Eds, I love how nice you are to me about this."

"Well it won't be like that if you're not serious," Eddie said, but it had no bite.

"Yeah, yeah, I've already got some auditions lined up and I'm working with a new management company on rebranding myself."

"Well then, you've got my full support, Richie," Eddie said, giving Richie his biggest smile of the conversation.

"Thanks, Eddie."

The two of them talked for another twenty minutes before Eddie had yawned more than he had talked and they soon bid each other goodnight so Eddie could go to sleep. Once off the call, Eddie plugged his phone into the outlet on the side of his couch before he curled up to watch the movie, thinking about how he could see something on TV that Richie had written or get to hear Richie's voice in an animated movie. The thought made Eddie smile and feel extra warm under the blanket and before he knew it, he had dozed off. 


	2. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Losers club arrives in Vegas for Ben and Bev's wedding. Eddie and Richie catch up during the rehearsal dinner. But during the wedding, Richie doesn't give his planned speech, both confusing and worrying Eddie.

As soon as the plane landed and started taxiing in to the gate, Eddie pulled out his phone to see if any of the Losers had messaged him. Bev had sent a text saying that she and Ben would meet Eddie at the airport, while Stan texted back that he and Bill had gotten onto the same flight with their wives and were on their way in to Vegas for the wedding. Mike sent Eddie a welcome text, having arrived in Vegas the day before. Meanwhile, there was nothing from Richie yet, but Eddie shrugged it off, thinking that maybe Richie had simply missed the text Eddie had sent. However, Eddie couldn't help but feel slightly downtrodden at seeing no message from Richie.

Ever since Richie had told Eddie about the change in his career, Richie had been much quieter on the communication front. Richie had quieted down on the Losers Club group chat and had stopped texting and calling Eddie as much as he had. Eddie had chalked up Richie's lack of communicating to all of the changes happening in his life, with Richie forced to adjust his life in more ways than one. Still, Eddie had been hoping that with this mini-vacation for Bev and Ben's wedding that Richie would be a little more communicative. He decided he would just have to wait until he saw Richie in person and could talk to him. 

It was about 15 minutes later that Eddie was walking through the terminal and into the area open to the public for arrivals and departures. He soon spotted Bev and Ben, who were both beaming and waving him over. Eddie smiled at his friends, glad to see both of them looking so happy that their wedding day was nearly here. Bev quickly pulled Eddie in for a bone-cracking hug when Eddie reached them.

"Oh, it's so good to see you, Eddie!" Bev exclaimed. She threw her hands around Eddie's cheeks. "You look so well, Eddie. Single life must be treating you well."

"You have no idea," Eddie replied, grinning at Bev before he pulled Ben into a hug.

"It's great to see you, Eddie. How was your flight?"

"Luckily not as long as it could've been," said Eddie as they started to walk over to the baggage claim. "Everything went pretty smooth, considering. Has Richie gotten here yet? I haven't heard from him yet today."

"No, he's supposed to arrive later this afternoon, right after Stan and Ben," Bev explained. "Mike is gonna pick them up so we can start setting up everything for the rehearsal."

Eddie nodded and hesitated before he spoke again.

"Has he been a little quieter than normal to you guys? It seems like ever since Derry and since he made his career change, he's been a little quieter than normal. Have you guys noticed that?"

Ben and Bev exchanged a look, which was noticed by Eddie. He raised his eyebrows at his friends before he leaned down to pick up his luggage from the baggage carousel. 

"Yeah, we have noticed that," said Ben as they started to walk toward the main entrance of the airport to leave. 

"We weren't sure if it was just with us or with everyone, but we asked Mike and he said Richie's been pretty quiet, too. So maybe he's just being distant from all of us."

"I wonder why," Eddie said, frowning. "He knows that he can talk to us about anything, right?"

"I'm sure he does, Eddie, but maybe he just needs some space is all," Bev said. "After all, he is making some big life adjustments with his career. I'm sure that's keeping him busy."

"Yeah, I bet you're right."

* * *

Richie finally arrived at the hotel around 5:30 that evening. By then, the rest of the Losers had finished setting up the ballroom in the hotel that Ben and Bev had rented for the wedding. 

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Richie said sheepishly as he approached his friends, grinning. "The damn plane couldn't get clearance to land for almost an hour, so it kept circling around before a gate finally opened up."

Bev squealed when she saw Richie and pulled him into a hug, followed closely by Ben. The rest of the Losers followed suit, with Bill and Stan both introducing Richie properly to their wives. Eddie stayed back as he looked at Richie up close for the first time since Derry. He couldn't help but notice that Richie seemed a little haphazard, even for Richie. There seemed to be bags under Richie's eyes and he wasn't clean-shaven like Eddie expected, though Richie could be waiting until the wedding day to actually clean up. 

Once Richie was finally done greeting the rest of the Losers, his gaze landed on Eddie. Richie's smile grew as they locked eyes and Eddie couldn't help but smile widely at Richie, too. He hurried forward and pulled Richie into a hug. 

"How are you doing, Eddie?" Richie asked when they broke apart.

"Glad to see you," Eddie responded honestly, blushing slightly. 

"Awww, I'm glad to see you too, Eds," said Richie, beaming. "Actually, it's great to see all of you Losers again! Work has been murder with all of the adjustments I've made lately. It's good to get away from it for a while."

"What changes have you made?" asked Patty, though they all suspected she knew about the change, since Patty and Audra had both become honorary members of the Losers Club. 

"Well, I say adios to standup, at least for now," said Richie. "And I've been doing some voiceover work that I'm not allowed to discuss yet, but let's just that my lifelong dream of being in an actual video game might be coming true." Richie winked at this. "And I've been writing some story treatments for a few sitcoms and sent them off as pitches to producers. All in all, I definitely made the right choice, but I could use this break, so cheers to Ben and Bev for giving us all a little vacation."

Bev smiled at Richie and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before clapping her hands together.

"Well, now that we're all here, I think it's time for us to do a little practice run of tomorrow," she said in a commanding voice. "So how it's gonna work tomorrow is that Pastor Mike here will walk to the altar first."

"I'm hardly a pastor, Bev. I just got ordained here for you guys," Mike said with a grin.

"And we definitely appreciate it," said Bev. "So, once Mike is in place, Ben will walk down the aisle and join him. Bill will follow since he's best man. Next will be Richie, since he's my man of honor. Stan and Patty will come down the aisle together, followed by Audra, and then Eddie and I will round at the end, since Eddie is the one giving me away. And Georgie, make sure you get shots of everyone walking down the aisle, okay? And then just get lots of photos of everyone at the altar. Everyone got it?"

The others nodded at her and they soon gathered into their spots. They did a few run-throughs of the wedding, minus the music and ring and vow exchanges before they started in on the pizza that had arrived while they were rehearsing. They crowded around the large table where they would be sitting during the wedding ceremony before the dancing began. The rest of Ben and Bev's friends and families would be spread out throughout the ballroom at various tables.

Once they were situated, Eddie turned to Richie, who had of course plopped down next to Eddie. 

"I'm really glad to see you, Rich," Eddie said just loud enough for Richie to hear him.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you, too, Eddie," Richie replied with a grin as he devoured a slice of pizza. 

"I'm not gonna lie, I've been a little worried about you, Richie."

Richie frowned.

"Why's that, Eds?"

"Don't call me that," Eddie said automatically, though he grinned at Richie. "I don't know. I guess you've just been a little quiet lately. I know you're busy with everything going on in your career, but I couldn't help but worry about you a little." 

Richie smiled at Eddie reassuringly.

"Everything is okay, Eds, I promise," Richie said earnestly. "I've just been so busy with all these new jobs that I haven't had much time for anything else lately. But things are gonna slow down a little since I've got some steady work coming and I'll be able to work some more normal hours now. I promise I'll do better, okay?"

"I'm not mad or anything, Rich," Eddie said, hoping that Richie didn't think this was a lecture.

"I know, I just want you to know that it's not just you, Eds. It's literally all of my life. But when things slow down a little, I'll bug you a little more, okay? And everyone else, too, but mostly you." Richie winked at Eddie.

"I'd like that, Richie," Eddie said. He took a bite of pizza before he spoke again. "So, do you have a nice speech written for tomorrow or are you just gonna wing it?"

"Eds, I would never!" Richie shrieked, clutching his heart in shock. "Of course I've gotten something whipped up for Bevvy and Benny Boy. It'll make everyone cry."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing coming from you," Eddie said dryly.

Richie gasped.

"You should come to my room and see it for yourself, Eds. I've got it written out on some nice paper and everything so I don't forget all the mushy stuff I've got to say about our favorite lovebirds." 

"Yeah, it should probably get my stamp of approval before you give it," Eddie said. "We don't need you throwing a 'Your Mom' joke into it."

"But Eddie!" Richie whined.

Eddie grinned at him.

* * *

Eddie turned around when he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. Bev was dressed up in her wedding outfit, which took Eddie slightly by surprise. Bev had opted for a dress that had two designs on it; the first half was a black and white floral design, while the second half, which was near the lower half of the dress, was made of white material of the traditional wedding dress. Bev was beaming at Eddie when he turned around to face her.

"Wow," Eddie said, his breath slightly taken away. "You look incredible, Bev."

"Oh, well mission accomplished," Bev replied, causing Eddie to cackle. "You think Ben will like it?"

"Shit, I'm a little jealous I don't get to marry you myself," Eddie joked.

"Aww, thank you, Eddie, although I know your heart really belongs to Richie."

"Don't know what you're talking about," Eddie replied, pretending to be aloof now.

"Uh huh, sure," Bev said. "You know, you could tell him."

"Come on, Bev, I'm not taking this day away from you and Ben. Besides, Richie's busy building himself a new career. I don't need to get in the way of all of that."

"I don't think you'd be getting in the way, Eddie. You would just be adding to Richie's already improving life."

"If you say so. Still, this day is about you and Ben and I will not make it about me, even if I'd really like to."

"All right, Eddie, well are you ready to give me away?" Bev asked, gesturing to the inside of the ballroom, where Audra had just taken her spot at the altar with the rest of the Losers.

"Only because I'm giving you away to the best guy I possibly could," Eddie replied, holding out his arm. Bev took it and they linked their arms together. "Well, for you, anyway. Richie probably takes that title in my book."

Bev giggled slightly.

"You two need to get your shit together soon. Otherwise I'm gonna lose my bet against Stan."

Eddie gulped as the doors to the ballroom opened and he and Bev had to concentrate on getting down the aisle.

* * *

Eddie sat down with the rest of Losers at the main table in the ballroom. Bev and Ben's wedding ceremony had been absolutely perfect. Mike was the best pastor they could have gotten and the vows Bev and Ben had written for each other put everyone to tears. They both had recited the January Embers poem Ben had written for Bev so long ago before they had their first kiss as a couple. The wedding could not have been more perfect. 

Soon, it was time for Bill and Richie to give their speeches. Predictably, Bill's speech was short and sweet, although he did joke that the ending wouldn't suck like the endings in his books, which got several laughs. When it was Richie's turn to stand up, Richie caught Eddie's eyes and Eddie gave him a thumbs-up before Richie started speaking.

"Well, Ben and Bev, I'm not quite as eloquent as Billy boy, but I'll give it a try anyway," Richie said, which caused everyone to laugh. "Anyway, I just want to say to you guys how happy I am for you and how glad I am to have seen you guys tie the knot. I know you guys will live a happy and healthy life together and I want to wish you all the best." Richie lifted his glass. "To Ben and Bev!"

"Ben and Bev!" the rest of the wedding attendees echoed before they took their drinks. Eddie, however, did not drink from his glass. He was too busy frowning at Richie, who seemed to now be avoiding his eyes. The speech Eddie had read the night before was not the same speech Richie had given. Richie's written speech was a lot longer and had stories of both Ben and Bev showing their love to each other as teens, despite neither of them noticing.

Eddie had to wait about ten minutes before he could get Richie on his own. After Richie's toast came the first dance. Eddie knew he couldn't not watch the dance, so he watched Ben and Bev's first dance and waited until the second song started playing and others joined the dance floor and started dancing. Eddie glanced around for Richie and saw Richie disappear through the balcony door. Eddie followed Richie.

When he reached the balcony and the door shut to drown out the sound of the music playing, Eddie walked over to Richie, who Eddie noticed was breathing a little heavier than normal. 

"Hey, you okay, Rich?" Eddie asked gently.

Richie whipped around to face Eddie. He was gripping his left arm as if it were in pain, but Richie looked relatively normal to Eddie. 

"I just don't feel that well, Eddie," Richie said in a quiet voice. "Got a little bit of chest pain and my arm hurts a bit, but I think that's cause someone ran into me, not cause of anything else."

"Your chest hurts?" Eddie asked, ignoring the rest of Richie's statement. "Well then maybe we should get you to a hospital or something, Richie. It could be serious!"

"Relax, Eddie, it's okay," Richie said nonchalantly. "It doesn't hurt that bad. Besides," he added as he loosened his tie a little. "There we go, that feels like it helped. My chest is loosening a bit, Eddie. I was just stuffed into too-tight clothing."

Richie was grinning at Eddie, who couldn't help but feel a little relieved. He was worried that Richie's chest pain was something else, but if Richie thought it had gone away, Eddie would accept his word.

"So, what happened in there, Rich?" Eddie asked, glad for a change in subject. "You didn't give the speech you showed me last night? Why not? You had a great speech written, Richie."

Richie took a deep breath and looked away from Eddie for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. 

"Honestly, I don't really know, Eds," Richie said. "I was all prepared to give it; I even had the speech ready in my jacket pocket. But once I stood up, I just couldn't do it."

Eddie frowned.

"Why not?" he repeated. "Did you think people were gonna make fun of you for telling some sweet stories?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Richie said, still avoiding Eddie's gaze.

"Then what is it, Richie? You're starting to make me really nervous with all of this odd behavior. I know you're adjusting to a new career, but that doesn't explain why you've been acting the way you have lately. And I'd really like to know what's going on, Richie. You can talk to me, I promise. No matter what it is, I'll try to help you through it."

Richie's shortness of breath was starting to become a little more noticeable to Eddie. Eddie blamed it on the nerves Richie was likely feeling and didn't think to ask if Richie was still in pain. Richie took one big breath before he responded.

"I just...I can't keep pretending that things are the same way they always were, Eddie," Richie said. 

Eddie stayed silent and nodded at Richie, inviting him to continue.

"I just can't pretend that I'm not who I know I am, Eddie. I know this is gonna sound crazy, Eddie. But I'm gay, Eddie. I'm gay. And I know that's not a horrible thing to be, but I only just remembered it when we got to Derry and only because I saw you."

"Richie, what are you saying?" Eddie asked after a moment.

"I'm in love with you, Eddie," Richie said. 

Suddenly, Richie gripped onto the railing tightly. His shortness of breath was more pronounced than ever and Eddie suddenly noticed that Richie was sweating profusely. Eddie stepped closer to Richie and started to reach out to comfort his friend.

"Are you okay?" Eddie demanded.

"Uh...I really don't feel so good, Eds," Richie replied. "I'm not kidding. Maybe you should get on a phone and call a doctor or an ambulance."

"Richie..." Eddie said as his heart sounded to pound faster.

"Call somebody," Richie said as he started to collapse against the railing. 

Eddie turned around and ran for the ballroom while Richie fell to his knees, coughing slightly. He quickly blacked out and the next thing he was aware of was the sound of an police siren from nearby while the worried voice of Eddie spoke words of comfort to him. Richie felt himself being lifted into the air and heard Eddie say everything would be okay before he blacked out again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for ending the chapter like that! :D
> 
> But I will say there is at least one more chapter and I can promise that everything is gonna be okay, so don't smite me yet, all right? Stay tuned for more soon!


	3. Heart and Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie tries to keep it together at the hospital, unsure of what happened to Richie that caused him to collapse during Ben and Bev's wedding reception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Sorry for the delay between chapters! I went back to work at the start of May and I was getting back into the groove of things. And to be honest, I needed a little break from writing after Camp NaNoWriMo in April. Although I love writing for those month-long challenges, it can be exhausting creatively, so a good break was just what I needed.

Eddie sat in the waiting room of the hospital where Richie had been taken after collapsing during the reception of Ben and Bev's wedding. He was holding on to Richie's tie and vest, which had been torn off of Richie as the paramedics started to check his vitals during the ride over to the hospital. His leg was bouncing as he waited for some news of Richie's condition, even though it had only been a few moments since he had arrived in the waiting room; he was desperate for some answers.

Eddie was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the rest of the Losers coming out of the elevator, all of them still dressed in their clothing for the wedding, and hurrying over to him until they crowded around him.

"Oh my god," Stan exclaimed when Eddie looked up and noticed him and the rest of the Losers. Bev started to rub Eddie’s shoulders while Ben placed what he assumed was a comforting hand on Eddie’s arm.

"Yeah, well he was awake in the ambulance and they kept checking his blood pressure and giving him oxygen," Eddie explained, desperate to just say something, anything, to keep his mind from wandering. "They thought maybe he had a minor heart attack. They wouldn't say anything more than that. Is that bad? That's gotta be bad."

"No, that doesn't mean anything," Stan said. "It's only been a couple of minutes."

"Well they told you he was gonna be all right, right?" Bev asked. "I mean, at least they told you that much."

"No they didn't tell me anything," Eddie said, standing up and pushing his way out of the hands of the Losers.

Eddie paced for a few moments before he spoke again.

"He's got a shoot that's supposed to begin next week,” he said, desperate to say anything.

"That's okay, because they'll just wait until he gets back," said Ben.

"No, I mean, you know..."

"The important thing is he's here and he's being taken care of," said Mike. "And this is a really good hospital."

"Geez, I wish they'd tell me something, you know?" Eddie said. "What kind of hospital is this?"

"Can you guys take a seat over there, I'm gonna go get Eddie something to drink," Bill said, gesturing to the other Losers, who all nodded at him. "All right, I know that it's hard, Eddie, but just, we have to be patient and be really positive. And I'm gonna be here with you the whole time. You want me to take Richie's stuff?"

"No," Eddie replied defensively as he pulled Richie's items closer to him protectively. 

* * *

It was just a few minutes later that a doctor came out and told the Losers that Richie was stabilized.

"So, what happened?" Bev demanded.

"Well, he did have a minor heart attack," the doctor explained. "We suspect it was due to a high level of stress, since we didn't find any evidence of high cholesterol or any other sign of a poor diet."

"But he's gonna recover, isn't he?" asked Stan, the only one who seemed brave enough to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

"We are optimistic. Since he stabilized so quickly, we're hopeful that this is just an isolated incident and we hope that he's gonna make a full recovery. He'll need to take it easy for a little while and not stress himself out about anything."

"Well, that should be easy," Bev said with a grin. "Eddie here is a champion at keeping people's blood pressure down!"

The doctor grinned at Eddie, who barely reacted to Bev's joke.

"Can we see him?" Eddie asked.

"He's not awake yet, but you're more than welcome to come back and be with him until he wakes up. But, I would advise just one of you to come. We don't want to overwhelm him when he wakes back up."

"Eddie, you should go," said Bill. 

"But..." said Eddie.

"We'll be fine, Eddie," said Mike. "Richie will want to see you when he wakes up.'

"We'll be here waiting for you, Eddie," added Georgie.

The rest of the Losers nodded encouragingly at Eddie. Eddie nodded and wordlessly passed Richie's things over to Bev, who took them with a silent nod. Eddie followed the doctor to Richie's room. 

Richie was hooked up to several machines in order to keep a check on his vitals. He had a cannula in his nose as well. He was hooked up to an IV machine, which Eddie walked over to and stared at for a few seconds.

"Uh, shouldn't this thing be dripping faster?" Eddie asked.

"No, that's how fast it's supposed to drip," said the doctor, who was making notes in a clipboard. "I'll check back on him in a couple of hours. We have to watch him closely over the next 48 hours."

"Why, what could happen?"

"Well even though it wasn't a massive coronary and he's stable right now there still could be some complications. It's too early to tell." 

At that moment, Richie's eyes opened and he blinked a few times as he took in his surroundings.

"Richie..." Eddie said, breathing out a sigh of relief and feeling much lighter than he had in the past hour.

"You can talk to him for a few minutes, but take it easy," said the doctor. "I'll be back later." 

With that, the doctor left the room and shut the door behind him.

"What's going on?" Richie asked weakly.

"Well, Ben and Bev got married, so everything is good there," Eddie replied. "And then, you and I were talking, and you told me that you weren't feeling well and that I should go and call a doctor. And they think you had a little, tiny, little, minor heart attack."

"A heart attack?" Richie asked.

"Yeah, a minor heart attack," Eddie said, stressing the word minor in order not to make Richie upset.

"I remember getting in the ambulance."

"Yeah that was really cool riding in that. They let me ring the siren," Eddie said, grinning at Richie.

"Cool."

"Yeah. We went through like five or six red lights, ran over several people, a dog."

"Double cool,” Richie said with a weak grin. “I always wanted to ride in an ambulance. Sorry I missed it."

Richie looked around at all of the things he was plugged in to.

"Minor heart attack? How minor could it be, I mean look at all the machines they got hooked up to me. If I was a car, this would be eight or nine hundred bucks." 

"Well they said they only have to keep you in the shop overnight. And the good news is they're giving me a loaner best friend." 

Finally, Richie started to chuckle weakly at Eddie's joke. It made Eddie's heart soar at seeing his best friend laughing, even if he could tell it was hard for Richie. Eddie leaned forward and grabbed onto Richie's hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. Richie squeezed back and suddenly Eddie knew that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Eddie returned to the waiting room once he had seen Richie fall asleep while holding his hand.

"He's gonna be okay," Eddie said to the Losers, who all looked relieved. "He's sitting up already. He's in good spirits and it looks like everything is gonna be fine. But it's getting late. There's nothing really any of you guys could do here. Unless one of you wants to go and give a liver to the guy in 308."

The Losers all laughed weakly, grateful that Eddie was trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't think it's wise for anyone in this Loser's Club to be giving away livers," Stan observed.

"Yeah, you have a good point, Stan," said Eddie absently. "Well, I'm gonna stay here with him overnight. I mean, he's okay and everything, but the room's paid for, so what the hell, right?"

Everyone laughed and they all suddenly felt better.

"Well, there's a lot of work to be done," said Bev.

"Yeah, we're gonna head back and start cleaning up the reception area," said Bill. 

"And we'll all get cleaned up and relax at the hotel," said Ben. "You just take care of Richie and call us if anything changes, okay?"

“Yeah, I will."

“We’ll bring you a change of clothes, okay?” said Bill.

“Thanks.”

The rest of the Losers then hugged Eddie one-by-one before they all left the waiting room, except for Stan. 

"God, do you believe all of this?" Eddie asked when the rest of the Losers were out of earshot.

"You sit down," Stan said quietly, gesturing to some chairs. He and Eddie walked over to them and sat down next to each other. "It'll be all right. Richie's strong. Everything will be all right."

"I've been friends with him since I was six years old."

* * *

Eddie was returning from walking around the hospital when he was distracted by a familiar face sitting in the waiting room.

“What are you still doing here? I thought you left when you dropped off these clothes an hour ago.”

“I didn’t wanna leave,” Georgie replied.

“What have you been doing?” Eddie asked as he sat down next to Georgie.

“Just been reading magazines, flipping channels on the TV mostly.”

“Highlights?”

“Nothing too exciting. Same old crap in the news. But there’s at least a Law & Order marathon going on that is making the time go by faster.”

Eddie chuckled.

“Well, listen, I’m gonna call someone and have them pick you up.”

“Eddie, I’m fine. I’m gonna stay here.”

“Georgie, there’s really no reason for you to stay. Everything is okay here and we’re all really exhausted, okay?”

“No!” Georgie said in a determined voice, standing up and walking to the sofa and sitting down on it with a defiant expression on his face.

“Yeah,” Eddie said, nodding. He stood up and fetched his jacket, which was hanging on a rack in the waiting room. He walked over to Georgie and wrapped it around him. “I keep forgetting you’re all grown up like the rest of us.”

* * *

Eddie walked back into Richie’s room. Richie was awake and had his hands resting behind his head.

"Hi,” Eddie said, smiling at Richie. “Georgie is wanting to sleepover, so I'm gonna let him.”

“Cool,” said Richie, nodding.

"Do you want me to call anyone else? You want me to call your parents?"

"No, don’t call them,” Richie said hurriedly. “I don’t want them freaking out on me. I’ll call them when I’m feeling better.”

“Are you sure?”

Richie nodded.

“I don’t think I can handle Mom stressing out about my health during this. Shit, she might even make me worse.”

Eddie chuckled.

"How's everyone else?" Richie asked.

"Well, Stan and Patty are back at the hotel with Mike, Bill and Audra are cleaning up the reception area. Ben and Bev are around. They canceled their honeymoon."

"Oh man, they canceled?" Richie groaned.

"Well, you know they just postponed it. They can do it later." 

"No, they won't."

"Sure they can, Richie, they've got plenty of flight rewards and they can afford to do it later."

"Oh man. I really screwed up."

"What are you talking about, Rich?"

"This was supposed to be Ben and Bev's day and now everyone has to stop and take care of me."

"Oh come on..." 

"They didn't even get to finish their reception."

"So, nobody cares about the reception."

"I do."

"Well, the wedding was the important thing and that went off without a hitch so can you just stop thinking about that and just try to relax?"

Richie lifted his hands, gesturing to all of the plugs that were in his arms.

"I'm having a real hard time not thinking about this."

"Yeah, me too,” Eddie said softly as he reached over and grabbed Richie’s hand, lacing their fingers together again. He was relieved that Richie was letting him be affectionate, though he knew they were going to eventually have to talk about Richie’s confession.

* * *

Some time later, Eddie and Richie were still awake. Richie had been flipping through channels on the TV, while Eddie was busy reading a magazine that he had grabbed from the waiting room.

“Man, you gotta be bored out of your mind, Eds,” Richie said when he noticed Eddie look up at him.

“No, I’m okay,” Eddie replied nonchalantly. “This magazine has got some good stuff in it. Listen to this, ‘With the election a month away, Clinton leads Trump by twelve percentage points.’”

Eddie smirked up at Richie, who was looking at him with an amused expression on his face.

“Obama is leaving office?” Richie asked sarcastically.

Eddie laughed before he returned his attention to the article.

"Why don't you go down and get yourself something to eat, Eds? You gotta be starving."

"Oh, I'm fine. I've been taking hits off your IV when you weren't looking. Next time we'll get chocolate."

"Eds, I'm fine. Go."

"Yeah. Well I guess if I hurry I can beat the post dialysis rush.” 

Richie laughed as Eddie stood up, stretching his legs. Eddie made for the door.

All right, you want me to get you anything?" Eddie asked.

"No thanks, Eds."

"You sure you don't want a cigarette or something?"

Richie laughed as Eddie grinned and walked out of the room. When he was sure he was alone, Richie sighed deeply. He started talking, but he wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. It could have been God, the Universe, or just himself, but Richie knew he needed to get some things off of his chest.

"Oh, man,” Richie groaned. “All right, you got my attention,” he said before sighing again. “I got no more fight left in me. That's all I had was the fight. Listen, I know that you pegged me for one of these guys who has to keep grinding it out, but you had me feeling like I was shoveling coal on the Titanic. No matter how fast I was shoveling, it just keeps going down. I've been shoveling so hard, I haven't had time to deal with the stuff I was gonna fix later.

“I'm gonna write my own material later. I'm gonna take better care of myself later. I'm gonna come out later. I'm gonna confess to Eddie later. So is this the big lesson? Huh? That later is now or what? I'm not ready to leave yet. 

“I will slow down. Just give me some time to work on stuff. I mean I know you're probably not real big on making deals, but just give me a few more trips around the sun, you know, to…” 

At this, Richie started to break down.

I don't want to leave them,” he said in a shaky voice. “He can't make it without me. Just...it's not like I'm asking for money or the moon. It's not that much.”

“ _ Please _ ,” Richie said as an afterthought.

* * *

Eddie didn’t go to the cafeteria right away. Instead, he stood outside of Richie’s room flipping through the magazine again. But this time, a million thoughts were running through his head, keeping him distracted. Suddenly, he started talking, as if he were demanding something from a friend standing with him.

"So, what is this, some huge cosmic joke thing that you got going?” Eddie asked, looking above him. “Anytime anything ever goes good, you have to like to make it crap all over me and my friends?

“ _ Why _ ? What did we do to deserve that? Why at Ben and Bev's wedding did this have to happen? I depend on you and you totally let me down.” 

Eddie paused as a thought occurred to him.

“Although... you weren't the one who forced him into the closet. And I guess I didn't do a good job of telling him it was okay and that he could tell me anything. It's obvious; I should've seen it, the guy's in trouble, why didn't I see it?” 

Eddie put down the magazine and sighed.

“Oh man. So, I guess you're the one that blew it." 

* * *

Richie’s eyes opened as soon as the door opened and Eddie walked into the room.

“Sorry, I was trying to be quieter,” Eddie whispered.

“It’s okay, Eds. Did you get enough to eat?”

“Yeah, I’m better now. They had some sandwiches for me and I grabbed one for Georgie and left it on the table next to him.”

“That’s good,” Richie said quietly.

Eddie hesitated before he sighed.

“Rich?”

“Yeah, Eds?”

“I think we need to talk about what happened before you collapsed.

Richie sighed.

“Yeah, I think you’re right, Eddie.”

“But first, can I say some things?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, um…” Eddie said, taking a breath before he continued. “I’m very glad that you told me that, Richie. I know it took a lot of guts on your part and I’m so proud of you. And I want you to know how grateful I am that you could trust me with it.”

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming, Eddie,” Richie said in a half-hearted attempt at a joke. 

“There’s no ‘but’ Richie,” Eddie said. “Because I love you, too, Richie. I love you with all of my heart. And I’m sorry it took me so long to say that, but I just needed you to hear it back from me.”

Richie started to tear up as he reached across his bed and grabbed Eddie’s hand.

“You’re not just saying it?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Of course not, Richie. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I just didn’t know how to say it.”

“Well, I’m just pissed that my damn heart got so stressed out that it literally stopped working for a few minutes.”

Both men then erupted into laughter. They were crying while they were laughing as years of emotions poured through both of their bodies and they realized they were always meant to be together. Once they finally both calmed down again, Richie spoke.

“I need you to know, Eddie, that I will always love you and take care of you. I will always be there for you whenever you need me. I just needed to say that just in case.

"Don't say that because there isn't any ‘just in case,’ okay?" Eddie interrupted, his voice shaking with tears.

"Okay." Richie said, wiping away his own tears.

"So I have something I wanna tell you too,” Eddie said. He paused for a moment as he searched for the right words to say. “Um, for the first time in like 35 years, since I first met you, I felt like, completely helpless watching you fall like that.”

"Thirty-five years is a long time, kiddo,” Richie said as he opened his arms and pulled Eddie into a hug. Eddie melted in Richie’s embrace and they held onto each other for several moments as they both cried. Eddie made sure to keep an ear on the heart monitor that Richie was attached to, but it seemed like Richie’s heart was functioning normally, which suggested it was likely a stress-related heart attack.

When they finally broke apart from the hug, Eddie and Richie simply looked into each other’s eyes, staring at one another before Eddie leaned forward and closed the gap between them. The kiss was unlike anything Eddie was expecting. It certainly wasn’t comfortable as he leaned over a bed while it happened, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was that it was them, him and Richie, and that they both knew how much they loved each other.

They finally broke the kiss, both of them gasping for air. When they locked eyes again, both of them started to laugh as a wave of exhaustion came over them.

“We should probably get some sleep,” Eddie whispered.

“Yeah, we should,” Richie said, nodding. “Stay with me?”

“Always,” Eddie replied. He walked over to the recliner he had been sitting on and pushed it as close to Richie’s bed as possible. Eddie then put the pillow and blanket he had been given onto the recliner before he sat down in it and leaned back in order to rest easier. Once he was situated, Eddie reached over and grabbed Richie’s hand again.

“I love you, Eddie,” Richie said as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

“I love you, too, Richie,” Eddie replied as he stifled a yawn and fell asleep instantly. It was the most peaceful sleep he had had in years. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it! This isn't quite what I imagined when I started writing this story, but I am happy with how it turned out. Let me know your thoughts!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little setup! There will be two more chapters to this story. Those will be a little longer and have a little more angst in them. The rest of the Losers will appear in the next two chapters!
> 
> Also fun fact: I still have yet to see It: Chapter Two. I'm not ready for it to rip my heart out, okay!? But like all y'all, I make it so everyone lives and that bitch Pennywise is gone.
> 
> Stay tuned for more!


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